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The Lowtein Basket Tracker

How good are this week's grocery deals?

A weekly national time series, updated with every refresh — tracking since May 18, 2026. The monthly Grocery Price Index ranks cities; this tracks time.

What this measures — in one breath

Lowtein records the best advertised price for each staple, in every city, every week — deal prices, not average shelf prices, so this is not an inflation measure. The headline series fixes that honestly: deal depth divides each week's best price by the government's official average, so the benchmark moves with real prices and what remains is the question no one else measures — how good are the deals right now?

United States

Deal depth — how far below the government average this week's best prices ran

National median across every city × staple meat, vs the official average (StatCan / BLS). Higher = deeper deals — a strong flyer week.

week of May 18 — 45%May 1845%week of May 25 — 46%week of Jun 1 — 44%week of Jun 8 — 42%Jun 842%week of Jun 15 — 45%week of Jun 22 — 52%52%week of Jun 29 — 52%Jun 29week of Jul 6 — 44%week of Jul 13 — 45%week of Jul 20 — 45%Jul 20week of Jul 27 — 43%week of Aug 3 — 42%week of Aug 10 — 45%Aug 10week of Aug 17 — 42%week of Aug 24 — 48%week of Aug 31 — 48%Aug 31week of Sep 7 — 47%week of Sep 14 — 45%week of Sep 21 — 45%Sep 2145%

The basket of best — US$, at each week's best advertised prices

Deal prices, not shelf prices: what the staples basket cost a shopper who grabbed each week's best advertised deal.

week of May 18 — US$27.78May 18US$27.78week of May 25 — US$24.40week of Jun 1 — US$26.13week of Jun 8 — US$26.82Jun 8week of Jun 15 — US$24.02week of Jun 22 — US$23.64week of Jun 29 — US$24.43Jun 29week of Jul 6 — US$25.89week of Jul 13 — US$25.69week of Jul 20 — US$25.69Jul 20week of Jul 27 — US$25.48week of Aug 3 — US$26.93week of Aug 10 — US$22.43Aug 10US$22.43week of Aug 17 — US$23.91week of Aug 24 — US$24.43week of Aug 31 — US$25.53Aug 31week of Sep 7 — US$23.72week of Sep 14 — US$23.28week of Sep 21 — US$24.81Sep 21US$24.81
Latest week's per-item medians (Sep 21) ▾
Chicken Breast1 lbUS$1.99
Ground Beef1 lbUS$4.89
Pork Chops1 lbUS$1.98
Beef Steak1 lbUS$6.50
Bacon1 lbUS$3.99
Eggs1 dozenUS$2.47
Butter1 lbUS$2.99

Canada

Deal depth — how far below the government average this week's best prices ran

National median across every city × staple meat, vs the official average (StatCan / BLS). Higher = deeper deals — a strong flyer week.

week of May 18 — 23%May 1823%week of May 25 — 16%16%week of Jun 1 — 31%week of Jun 8 — 27%Jun 8week of Jun 15 — 21%week of Jun 22 — 26%week of Jun 29 — 26%Jun 29week of Jul 6 — 32%week of Jul 13 — 26%week of Jul 20 — 33%Jul 20week of Jul 27 — 37%37%week of Aug 3 — 34%week of Aug 10 — 31%Aug 10week of Aug 17 — 30%week of Aug 24 — 36%week of Aug 31 — 36%Aug 31week of Sep 7 — 34%week of Sep 14 — 33%week of Sep 21 — 30%Sep 2130%

The basket of best — C$, at each week's best advertised prices

Deal prices, not shelf prices: what the staples basket cost a shopper who grabbed each week's best advertised deal.

week of May 18 — C$39.00May 18C$39.00week of May 25 — C$42.12week of Jun 1 — C$38.32week of Jun 8 — C$44.87Jun 8C$44.87week of Jun 15 — C$43.63week of Jun 22 — C$39.52week of Jun 29 — C$41.81Jun 29week of Jul 6 — C$39.33week of Jul 13 — C$39.12week of Jul 20 — C$42.91Jul 20week of Jul 27 — C$37.66week of Aug 3 — C$36.99week of Aug 10 — C$35.94Aug 10week of Aug 17 — C$36.48week of Aug 24 — C$36.16week of Aug 31 — C$33.88Aug 31week of Sep 7 — C$33.79C$33.79week of Sep 14 — C$36.10week of Sep 21 — C$37.94Sep 21C$37.94
Latest week's per-item medians (Sep 21) ▾
Chicken Breast1 lbC$4.52
Ground Beef1 lbC$4.99
Pork Chops1 lbC$3.49
Beef Steak1 lbC$10.99
Bacon1 lbC$4.99
Eggs1 dozenC$3.99
Butter1 lbC$4.97

Honest limitations

Weekly-best selection is a minimum statistic — noisier than an average, smoothed here by taking the median across 100+ cities. Promotional floors are sticky (a $1.99/lb chicken week can repeat), so short-run moves reflect flyer cycles as much as underlying prices. The series is young (since May 2026) and sharpens every week. The basket: 1 lb chicken breast · 1 lb ground beef · 1 lb pork chops · 1 lb beef steak · 1 lb bacon · 1 dozen eggs · 1 lb butter. Currencies are never merged — the two countries chart separately. Full methodology: how we choose.

Use this data

Free to quote or chart with attribution: "Lowtein Basket Tracker" linked to this page (CC BY 4.0). ⬇ Download the weekly series (JSON) · questions: contact@lowtein.com

Updated 2026-09-28 · Grocery Price Index · US prices · Canada prices · Australia prices · UK prices · lowtein.com